


What is a Legacy; Humble Beginning.

by Dark_Blue0



Series: What is a Legacy. [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-01-05 10:17:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18364016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Blue0/pseuds/Dark_Blue0
Summary: The story of one force sensitive family, and how they endured through the war with The Brotherhood of Darkness, The 1,000 year ascension of the Rule of Two, the Galactic Empire, and beyond.





	1. That which comes before greatness.

The year is 1037 BBY and we find ourselves in an orbital station that satellites the planet Shili, home of the togruta. Naturally we are here to witness the birth of a Togrutan, Ascanus Verna Jedi Lord of the Ascanus system and king to the planet Verna. But that is much later in this story, in fact this isn’t even his story at all, but it’s where the story starts and we’ll be here for a while so why not check in on the Lord to one day be? 

Freshly cleaned by a medical droid, and with lights far too bright for his newborn eyes Talmerkin, as unbeknownst to him he’s just been named, has resorted to crying until he’s placed in the arms of a woman with skin the color of burning coals. His senses tell his undeveloped mind that this is the person who’s been the source of his comfort for the last few months, so he stops screaming while she swaddles him in a nice blanket, he then passes out. His mother is cradling him in her arms, while his father is wondering if their child will take more after his mother’s red skin tone or his own blue hues. What no one in the room knows is, his name has just been recorded by a holocron in the Jedi temple and already a plan is being made for a Jedi scouter to visit his parents and inform them of their plans to induct him into the order.

What absolutely none of them know is, this single birth will inform the outcomes of wars both soon to come and centuries away, will give raise to some of the most notable force sensitives to ever enter the galaxy, and will undeniably lead to a very big first tantrum in three hours when Talmerkin has his first diaper change and is hungry. But we don’t particularly need to see that last one so let’s skip over that shall we? Good.

We find ourselves now on Shili’s surface, in a fairly sized village of huts. On its outskirts is a Jedi transport ship of green and grey colors. The other members of the small community have directed all of their attention to the hut where the mature members of the hunter species can make out four distinct heart beats, and all can pick up the muffled voice of the outsider as he explains his purpose there.


	2. Slumbering Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Jedi Master has come to Talmerkin’s village to speak to the infants parents.

Talmerkin was unsure what kind of creature was currently in his hut. It looked like a very long tail with four arms, and a lot of what seemed like fur where its face, lekku, and montrals should be. It’s mostly green in color, but it has brown and grey robes on its upper tail where the arms and head are. It seems to speak different words than his Mommy and Daddy usually spoke to him, but they seemed to understand what the long tail creature is saying though the words seem to be making his parents sad, it doesn’t show on their faces but he feels their sadness and also something kinda like when he first called them Mommy and Daddy so he has chosen not to hurl his toy at the big tail’s head spot like he normally would when something made his parents upset. Also he got in trouble when a chair hit his Mommy when she told him to go to sleep and he wanted to stay up so he’d been trying not to want to throw things.

I’ll tell you now since Talmerkin won’t know for a few more months that this creature in his parents hut is a Thisspiasian, the “fur” is her long hair and beard which is auburn in color. Her name is Uvya Jinarte and she is a scout for the jedi order who has been sent to inform Talmerkin’s parents, their names are Ondures and Salmerie Ree by the way, that he is a very powerful force sensitive that the order would like to train. Ondures and Salmerie already knew about their sons force sensitivity if the chair incident didn’t tell you that already inform you of that, they are proud because it’s a great honor to have their child chosen to help the Jedi defend the galaxy, but very sad because this means that their child won’t grow up in the village and will lack his people’s support. They agreed to let him be taken, but wanted a day longer with him, they invited the Jedi to stay with them for the evening. 

What transpired over the next few hours is not yet relivant to our story but perhaps we shall one day see what Master Uvya experienced here that will later convince her to take this young Togruta as her only apprentice. It was late the next afternoon, when the young Togruta was napping, that his parents said their goodbyes to their son. Master Uvya was gentle with the infant, cradling the child in her lower set of arms as she promised the small village to look after the boy on his path through the force before slithering to her Jedi transport. A f-21 personalized light freighter with room for an occupancy of five of which three have been customized for young of various species, customized for stealth and evasive tactics with as little disruption to her charges as possible. Uvya set the boy down in one of the more standard cradles as she slithered along to the cockpit, coiling herself around the specially designed chair. Kicking the engines to life and directing the vessel out of the village clearing and away from the atmosphere, setting course for Coruscant.


	3. The temple awaits

The hyper space journey took the ship roughly two hours, Talmerkin had woken up some time during the first hour and at first had been content to be watched by the tail creature that had been nice to him so far, but it only lasted so long before the infants semi developed senses picked up on the stark lack of his parents. The following half hour consisted of a moderate temper tantrum which the Jedi Master kept from getting too extreme by projecting an aura of calming comfort through the force which helped the boy to cope. After Talmerkin had calmed down Uvya brought him with her to the cockpit, again holding him in her lower arms as she used the upper set to take the ship off autopilot and killed the hyperspace drive, bringing them to a stop just outside of Coruscant’s atmosphere. The young Togruta had never seen such a dazzlingly bright, well anything really and his amber eyes grew like saucers as they tried to make sense of the city planet.

Glad for the boys relative distraction, the serpentine woman verified her ship and started steering towards the Jedi temple. Once there she docked her ship and made her way to the headquarters of the Acquisition Division within the temple, where she reported the success of her mission and left the boy in the care of Master Zalgerzine, an aged male Mirialan, with pink skin and violet eyes, who had incidentally had been her own master nearly 50 years ago. To her, this was merely coincidence, not to be taken note of as she headed to her chambers to rest before she headed off for her next assignment.

Master Zalgerzine looked down at Talmerkin as he escorted the child to his decided clan, the Zillo Beast clan. He was a bit younger than most average recruits the Jedi had long been taking in but with the continued conflict with the Sith Lords, many things would have to change the old Master thought. Among his new clan there were 9 other members. Three Iktotchi aged 11 a male, an 8 year old female, and another female who was 7. A single male Quermian who was 9. Four humans were also among them, all female, aged 3-5. The last of this clan was a male Twi’lek who was also around 2 like Talmerkin.


	4. Meet the Grand Master

The child adapted somewhat slowly to this new way of life, often requiring a master to come and quell the boy and his emotional distress, which had negative effects on their young and under trained initiates, for such a potent force sensitive to be broadcasting such melancholy through the force. He enjoyed the company of his fellow clan members who appeased his inherent pack mentality. After his fourth month, and subsequently his third birthday, he fully began to accept his place at the temple. He had started to understand Galactic Basic, and was beginning to start speech lessons, as well as attending the classes given by the current Jedi Grand Master Valreen Ternoth. An elderly female Zabrak, who appears closer to a woman of middle age thanks to the sustaining power of the lightside of the force. With burnt orange skin, and grey facial tattoos that sprawl from her cheeks down to the woman's neck in intricate cross hatch patterns, her hair was usually kept in a tight braid but today it was hanging free, reaching mid-way down her back, seven horns protrude from the greying brown locks. Four rose up, and seemed to have fused together with age, just behind her hairline almost as if a crown with the other three forming distinct points further back on her skull. 

Today they were in the temple water garden, being guided through a breathing technique to aid them in falling into a meditative state to better commune with the force. Talmerkin appreciated the woman’s presence, her aura exuded a calming feeling that let him slip somewhat into the force. When experiencing the world through the force instead of with his mundane senses it felt as if all around him were their own self contained pools of water, those around him who were giving into frustration at the lack of ease in which they slipped into meditation seemed to be rippling constantly, with the small waves hitting the walls that contained them, returning to the source, hitting other ripples and further agitating the water. Those who seemed to fall more easily into meditation, or at least were not as bothered by their difficulties, seemed to be flowing like a gentle stream, some even connecting with other pools outside of their own, these Talmerkin suspected are the ones who had actually achieved a meditative state, but it was imperfect some streams deviated from the others or flowed faster or slower, somewhat disrupting the others. 

He could not see his own pool of water, he wondered if he ever would, but he could distinguish some of those whose who’s waters were clear enough, not all of the pools seemed to be the same size, many were similar enough, a few were smaller than what he presumed was the average, even fewer of the students had larger than what seemed normal but when he projected is awareness to Master Ternoth. To him she seemed as if the ocean itself, larger than any of the others, and as clear as a freshly cleaned pane of glass. It inspired awe for what some of them might one day become.


	5. Questions of war, lightsabers, and hot chocolat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talmerkin has burning questions that he must turn to trusted friends to find the answers to.

Days spent at the temple seem to go by quicker for Talmerkin, he's begun going to the group training for saber combat as well as the lectures on force meditation. It is scarcely talked about in the open but the thoughts of the war with the Sith hang heavily in the air. Apprentices mutter about the ongoings on the field, mention is often made of a rising star, Lord Rolahn who has taken up the front on Hoth. Today's lesson in saber training had been centered on the seven forms of lightsaber combat, well actually only six were talked of, but he had gone to the temple archives before lunch to look further into the first three styles which had interested him the most, and discovered the records of the seventh and he had to wonder why his teacher would not speak of this one form.

He had asked one of the older apprentices, a teenage human boy he had come to know who’s name was Skere Kaan. Skere had told him it was because the seventh form was very dangerous and that the masters were very restrictive with who they taught it to. Saying that one had to have mastered at least three other forms to request study of the last. He was going to ask more about this when Skere’s Master called him away. The young Togrutan pondered many thing on his way to the dinning hall, why was the seventh form so dangerous to study, why was this war still going on and how much longer would it have to go still before either side tired of the bloodshed, would he have to partake in this conflict. All this and more clouded his young mind, so much so he almost hadn’t noticed Master Zalgerzine was walking in the same hallway as he was an was nearly too late to bow respectfully to the old man. “What troubles you my young friend, your mind is buzzing so loudly in the force thought a large bug was coming down this hallway instead.” the old man placed his hand on Talmerki’s head in between his growing monstals. Master Zal, as he called the man in his head, always seemed to appear whenever he had too many questions in his mind.

He remained quiet for a moment to gather his thoughts and think of which question to ask the Master, but perhaps he had taken too long as Master Zalgerzine turned and began walking down the way he had come before. “Come young one, let us discuss your worries over refreshments instead of in this corridor” the Mirialan waited for him. It took only a second before he ran off to join the man and fell into step behind him. He found himself as the door of the old Master’s chambers, as they stepped inside the boy found it was a brightly lit room with the far wall dominated by a large window which was somewhat uncommon thing in the temple chambers. The master offered him a seat and poured the them both mugs of Hot Chocolate, before sitting down himself. Talmerkin stalled by taking a few sips of the drink before he finally settled on the question that nagged him the most.

“Master, why are we fighting the sith, if they’re just following the will of the force like us then shouldn’t we just let them?” the master took a moment to drink from his own hot chocolate before he sighed. “You see, the force has many paths that we might take, not all of hem are the right one however,” he took another sip from his drink and looked down at the boy, “some paths lead us to lives of greed, fear, and hatred. It is up to us to pick the right one, and guide others down it as well.” the Mirialan let his words hang in the air for the young learner to ponder.  
He ran the concepts over in his mind and decided that if ever he came across a Sith that he would try to show them compassion, and try to bring them to a lighter path. He decided to ask the question he had had for Skere to Master Zal, “Master, why is the seventh form so dangerous?” Zalgerzine laughed lightly then. “Apologies my young friend, but are not all of the lightsaber combat styles dangerous? Each of the forms bring with them a drawback and risk, the seventh however is indeed potentially more risky than all of the others.” He set his cup down beside his seat, and resettled on top of the meditative chair, “you see, the seventh form is notorious for a lacking defense, and for the draw it has to the dark side of the force. Similarly to the first form Shi’icho, Juyo as the seventh is commonly called requires the user to submerge themselves into the currents of the force. The problem there in is the greatly aggressive mindset practitioners must maintain if the style is to remain effective, it makes them a beacon to the darkness drawing it upon them.” The boy nodded, but then noticed something, “Master, where is your lightsaber?” Zalgerine laughed again then, he stood and walked to a small table near his bed, when he came back he was holding something in each of his open palms. 

The objects seemed dusty, and each end seemed like it had been burned long ago, it was then that realization dawned on him. These were the remnants of an old lightsaber. “What happened to it?” his voice was small and unsure then. “Long ago, when I had first become a master, my first apprentice allowed hate into his heart and declared to me that he intended to join the sith, we dueled, the fight and his life ended when I cut his saber in twain and pierced his heart. This was his saber, my own lays at rest with him.” the old master seemed sad but had a smile on his face, he seemed at peace with this tragedy from his past. Talmerkin nods and excuses himself politely, he felt he should leave Master Zal alone now, he thanked the man for his time then made his way back to the Zillo Beast clan quarters.


	6. Meeting the great Lord Hoth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talmerkin gets his first look at the recently appointed Jedi Battlemaster, Lord Hoth.

It had been a few months since Talmerkin had had that conversation with Master Zal, and he and his clan mate Kopecz, the Twi’lek who is roughly the same age as he, and he were talking excitedly because today as it is not only the day they get their first training sabers, but also the day of the Apprentice Tournament, where master’s gathered the galaxy over to see the initiates of apprentice age compete by displaying their skills of lightsaber combat. They were discussing what colors their training sabers might be as they passed through the open door to the training room, there were several other initiates around their age but the instructor, Lord Hoth who had been recalled to the temple after the victory on Hoth which had earned him a Jedi Lordship of his own, had yet to arrive. 

Talmerkin thought that a golden or yellow blade would be the best looking but Kopecz was hoping for a blue or turquoise blade. The two joined a small group of fellow initiates who were discussing much the same thing when the training rooms door slid open with its suction like sound. The nearly middle aged man that walked through the arch of the door could only be described as massive, he was nearly two meters in height, with a shoulder width about the same as half of a lightsaber from what Talmerkin could tell. 

The man was in armor that reminded him of brass, but it seemed dulled somewhat by battle and had many pits and scratches. The lightsaber on his hip was somewhat bulky with a prominent hand grip taking up most of the center of the 15 inch conical design, it had a somewhat long pommel that he suspected was for secondary hand placement, and the blade emitter shroud was ridged. The man had fair skin, and brown hair which seemed to be darkening into black.

“Today your lightsaber training begins, seeing as you’re all neophytes to the ways of combat, we will start by introducing you to the most basic of all our fighting styles.” The man’s voice was almost as gruff as his appearance, but he was calm and had an almost kind tone to him. Walking to the far side of the room and pressing keys on a consul protruding from the wall, soon after he finished a small rectangle opened in the wall from which a table emerged. On said table there were 13 very basic lightsabers, bereft of all design features save for their red activation switches. “Take up one saber each, color is unimportant just take one and stand in a semi-circle around the room.”

They quickly did as they were told, grabbing their new training sabers powered by Kathracite crystals the less powerful and more common form of Adegan crystals. When he activated the training weapon it had a silvery blue blade. He waved it around, like all of the other younglings, partly to get used to it but mostly to just appreciate the whirring sound and the glow of the blade. Hoth indulge this for a moment before clearing his throat to get their attention calling them back into formation. The large man looked at each of his young students, and briefly entertained the idea of how triumphantly they would all welcome him back to the temple once he won the war for them, and then he focused himself back into the task here and now. Starting their training with the basic flow exercises which were the preamble to Form One.


	7. A Life Changing Day.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven years have passed, but today will be the one that changes it all.

Eleven years have passed since Talmerkin was brought to the Jedi temple, the war had begun to lull after a climactic battle a little over three years go that had sent many of the key Sith Lords either to the force or into exile, hiding away within some dark corners of the galaxy. The Togrutan child had grown into a very promising prospective apprentice, with skill in the first two forms of lightsaber combat and an ever increasing understanding of the force. Tomorrow would be a tournament for the young initiates to show their skills before the masters and bring themselves to the attention of those seeking apprentices, but most knew that Master Zalgerzine was simply waiting for the boy to come of age to take him on, and Talmerkin was determined to prove himself ready. 

He was making his way from the daily meditation session to the ancient masters quarters to tell his long time mentor that he was finally ready to take this test. He stalled just before rounding the corner to one of the long temple corridors, there was a whisper in the force, a hint of a threat. Talmerkin expanded his senses to cover a wide area, helped by his developing echo location afforded him by his growing montrals. There were three beings near Master Zalgerzine’s room, the man himself, Kopecz his friend and clan mate, and some third energy that was almost recognizable but it was agitated and dark.

Worry crept into the thirteen year old, a sense of dread that pushed him to round the corner and quickly make his way down the long hallway, the speed of his movement disrupted his sense of the others but he could sense the growing distress and as he came closer he could now hear raised voices, one was harsh and angry, one sounded panicked, there was no third voice. “..Uo…illed hi.. we hav.. elp..” it was hard to make out the words of the panicked voice with his heart pounding in his chest as he ran down the hall, but he was sure it was the voice of Kopecz. The other voice was clearer, older, with dread he recognized it as Skere Kaan, “We have to go, now, they’ll blame you as well. We have to leave. Now!” As those words left his friends lips that Talmerkin came skidding to a halt around the corner, and what he saw would scar him for the rest of his life. 

His feet screeched to a stop on the waxed floors of the temple as he faced the corridor, standing there Kopecz was nearer to the wall looking up at the older human with a startled look in his eyes. Skere was knelt to be level with the Twi’lek, his lightsaber was deactivated in his right hand, the other was on Kopecz’s shoulder. At Kopecz’s feet, slumped against the wall, with a cauterized hole in his chest was Master Zalgerzine, his head bowed and body limp. “Talmerkin…” Kopecz seemed to sway in his direction, but Skere’s hand tightening on his shoulder steadied him. “Young Karsak,” rarely was his last name used by anyone, Kaan using it now with his mind whirling, made the name sting to his core, “I know this must be a shocking sight, but trust me there’s no need to-” Something in him snapped in his mind, he clutched the sides of his head, he was vaguely aware of his legs giving out, he thought he could feel himself saying something but what it might have been he couldn’t tell, soon the world went black for him.

“-But trust me there’s no need to-” Kopecz’s mind was a blur, he had only just focused back into the world and heard Skere trying to calm Talmerkin, but he knew that look on the boys face, he’d seen it on a number of occasions and he had scarce seconds to enforce his mental walls and bring his hands up to cover his ears before it happened. Kaan was vaguely aware of Kopecz covering his ears besides him, the reason for which became self evident seconds later. The young Togrutan let out at once, two horrible screams in the force, one existed on the one physical plane a force scream of anger and distress, the other existed purely in the mental sphere and it was all the more terrifying for it.


	8. Must make a Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Called back from the heart of the force by Talmerkin's scream, Master Zal must call on all his skills to save Kopezc and Talmerkin from Kaan's dark intentions.

The whole of the temple was instantly aware as the shuddering screams echoed throughout their senses and caused a great tremor in the epicenter of his distress. Kopecz had never seen his friend let loose such a magnitude of telepathic energy before, the shield he’d built shattered upon its impact, and the wave of the physical scream had blown him completely off his feet. Kaan was hardly any better, he’d managed to erect a force wall that kept him physically in place, but it had done nothing to block out the traumatic effects it was having on the metaphysical plane. Skere had been brought to his knees, clutching desperately at his ears as if that could or would stop the scream from ripping through both of their minds. As suddenly as it had crashed upon them, the scream faded. Kaan looked up from his balled position to see the hand of the man he thought he had killed not three minutes earlier outstretched to the Togrutan boy.

Raznerin Zalgerzine felt a spark of thought come into his fading mind. At first he was unsure of what had drawn him away from the deep heart of the force, which he had been sinking into as life left his body. Slowly he became aware of a great upheaval in the force. With some effort he pulled his eyes open, to the right he could blurredly see young Kopecz sprawled out on the floor, and his would be killer Skere Kaan curled in on himself, clutching his head. He followed a ringing sound to the right, which was steadily growing louder and louder as his senses reawoken from their death sleep. Its source, he discovered was Talmerkin Karsak, the boy his former apprentice had delivered to him here at the temple personally. Reaching out through the force he lulled the boys mind into unconsciousness. Bringing him first to his knees then to the floor. 

The horrid sound had finally stopped. Kaan raised his head, his eyes going wide with surprise. He could have sworn Master Zalgerzine’s force signature had been fading away to nothing just moments ago, now the fossil was standing himself up again, a hand over the hole in his gut that Kaan had left. “I see,” Skere let out a pant of effort as he too brought himself to stand, the effect of Karsak’s mental assault had ravaged his body, “I was mistaken in thinking such an injury was enough to kill you.” Kaan reached out with the force and retrieved his saber from where it had fallen when he collapsed, “I won’t disrespect you with such assumptions again Master,” his scarlet blade came to life with a sharp hiss, “I will ensure you are truly dead this time.” 

Raznerin was trying to call on his power in the force to heal himself enough to protect the boy’s. He had been counselling young Kopecz on if the boy was ready to attempt becoming an apprentice when Skere had appeared at his door. Zalgerzine had gone out into the hall to see what the young knight needed of him when the red blade had been thrust through his back. He had begun to lose consciousness when Kopezc came out into the hall to see what the commotion had been. 

He had never been a strong healer, his talents had always lent themselves more toward offensive applications of the force, and when Skere began to approach him at an increasing pace he displayed this skill. Thrusting his spare hand outward, being careful not to catch the young Twi’lek in his assault, he sent the young human hurtling through the air, the burn in his gut finally began to dissipate as adrenalen entered his system.  
Kaan let out a frustrated growl as he got his legs back under him in a crouch, stabbing his saber into the polished floors and digging his heels in to bring himself to a stop. In his twenty-five years as an apprentice at the temple, Raznerin Zalgerzine had been ever present, yet he knew next to nothing about him except for the rumor that roughly ninety years ago he’d killed his first student when they had exposed themselves as a sith sympathizer. It was also said the man had not wielded a lightsaber in combat since that day, this gave Kaan some hope for his ability to beat the man if he could get his command of the force back into focus. That scream had been a magnificent display of power, he needed both of these children to come with him when he left, they would be the foundations of his dark empire.

A cool sense of determination washed over Raznerin, the rest of the temple would certainly be converging on this place soon enough thanks to Talmerkin’s scream he need only keep Skere here long enough. He came to curse his age now, were he even fifteen years younger he might be able to combat the young knight with only the force and heal his injury at the same time, though he was too old and Kaan’s potential was too great to be underestimated. With a silent apology to the boy, he reached out with the force and pulled Talmerkin’s saber from him. It was a model of symplicity, he adjusted the light blue blade to be more fit to his height Zalgerzine took a stance, something he had not done since he taught his last apprentice Uvya fifty-nine years ago. With his mind set and his goal in place, Zalgerzine devoted the whole of his force focus to heal his wound quickly whilst he fought what could well be his last battle. One he could not dare to lose lest the boys be in danger. 

Kaan took a cautious step back, the fact the man had needed to take Karsak’s saber in the first place sent the message loud and clear that his opponent had indeed gone many years without a saber of his own. But he was ancient, and with those years had come experience if nothing else, and he had the record expected of a respected Master, Kaan could not expect this to be easy and the burning violet eyes staring him down from across the hall made him all the more sure of this. He let his gaze flick down to Kopezc, the Mirialan’s eyes followed him but the old man was too slow to stop him from seizing the unconscious Twi’lek’s saber in a telekinetic grip and calling it to his hand. He ignited the amber blade, it was a little over half the length of his scarlet weapon, perfect for his Jar’Kai style. He gave the old master a nod of his head and then their dance began.


	9. A Moment Will Always End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first official battle of Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness takes place in the heart of the Jedi Temple.

He gave the old master a nod of his head and then their dance began. He channeled his returning force strength into his body as he charged forward. Zalgerzine stayed stationary, the borrowed blade in front of him, just as he was bringing the two blades in for an x formation slash, Zalgerzine switched to a reverse grip. The old man slapped his two sabers to the side, stepping in, Kaan felt his head reel as the Mirialan’s fist connected with his jaw hard enough he could feel it would bruise if it wasn’t already. Kaan brought his knee up swiftly, the blow landed on the hand Zalgerzine was covering his wound.

The two stepped away quickly, Zal doubled in pain, his vision blurred with it. Kaan was fighting unconsciousness off with all his might, it was only his strength in the force that kept his mind from blacking out. Clearly the old man had familiarized himself with the weak spots of the human body, and likely many other species. His senses told him to jump low to the right, without letting his mind question he intuition of the force he put himself into action, he slipped the bright blue blade by centimeters. Coming out of a roll he slashed at the Jedi’s knees, his scarlet blade met a stonewall block that, with his poor leverage, he couldn’t get past. The blue blade started to quickly slide down the length of his own, Kaan could tell that if he did nothing it would slice his neck clean through. Bringing up the amber shoto in a cross guard, he stopped the advance of the aqua blade with all but a precious inch between it and its mark. 

Raznerin had hoped to end it quickly but, as Kaan was pushing both of his arms down to shift the blades away from himself and in to the floor, it was becoming clear he needed to either get the second blade out of the mix or add some other element to this fight. He lessened the amount of energy directed to his wound, wincing as more of the pain came through. Like a needle he wove the force through Kaan’s defences, both of his enemies sabers were extinguished when he shifted the crystal chambers just slightly out of alignment from the rest of the saber’s power matrixes. He intended to follow this up by slicing his foe up the middle, but Skere instinctively pushed him back and he failed to raise an adequate force shield in time, only managing to stay up right as he slid backwards. 

Kaan reached out with the force to understand what had happened to the weapons, he quickly understood that the old man had misaligned the saber crystal chambers. Unfamiliar with the inner workings of Kopezc’s design, and with no time to spare, he was forced to abandon the other weapon. Quickly he realigned they chamber of his own blade, just fast enough to raise his arms to catch the in coming blue blade from above, this time Zalgerzine had used a Falling Leaf strike. The blow shook his arms and pushed him back in his crouched position, his leather boots screeched on the floor. He was flipped end over end by a brutish kick delivered to his ribs which gave a harsh crack and had him coughing. Judging by the even further draining of color from his enemies face, the man had obviously had to sacrifice even more of his dwindling energy from his attempt to heal. It would inspire more hope that the fight would soon end if not for the fact Zalgerzine no longer seemed to think it necessary to cover the stab wound with his spare hand. He could sense the other Jedi approaching, most troublesome among these jedi was Grand Master Ternoth who outshone all of the others with her coming light.

Raznerin had begun to grow numb again, he was relying more on the force to track Skere’s movements than his eyes. He had abandoned the attempt to heal himself, now he just focused entirely on the fight and staying attached to the physical world, ignoring the call of the metaphysical. He called on his reserves, pools of force energy he had not needed for seventy years, determined not giving Kaan a chance to rally from his kick. He caught the man in a telekinetic grasp, straining to body through his force defenses, he raised his free hand as if to take the betrayer into his clasped fist. He jerked his arm downward and flung it to the side, Kaan’s body followed, hitting the ground hard before being slammed into the wall. 

Kaan witnessed Raznerin’s body briefly go completely limp, as he pulled himself back to his feet using the wall he’d hit as a brace, the old man's eyes rolled back into his skull. He hoped he was watching the old man die, that his withered body would hit the ground with a thud, but just as quickly as it had started the man reanimated. Muscles going taught again as he stood tall, eyes seeming to regain some clarity. “I will not allow you to drag these boys down the dark path!” Kaan had to respect the old man for his resolve if nothing else, but he would claim the children as the first blackened jewels in his Sith Crown. Calling on the dark side, tossing the pain of his injuries, his hatred for the man who had caused them, and his fear of the Grand Master into the heart of his dark furnace of power, dropping his saber and raising both hands. Lightning streamed from not only his fingertips but his palms as well. 

Zalgerzine raised the saber in his hands but the lightning reached him too suddenly, and his hands had become too weak. The weapon fell from his grasp, lost in the storm, he called on the last of his power. The lightning disappeared within him, he used its power to maintain his defense, but he has so little left and tutaminis of this level was difficult in the best of cases. He could not continue, so he chose simply not to. For a moment the lighting remanined contained in the crackling nexus of they had created power, for a moment the aged Jedi Master and the Sith remained standing there, for a moment there was an odd sense of equilibrium. But of course the moment, like all others, was doomed to end. With a sharp clap the lightning broke through the wall, but all it hits are the empty, fluttering, brown robes of an old man who is no longer there


	10. What follows a Moment, and What happened before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaan moves to claim what he's won but his victory is cut short. Enter Master Valreen.

Kaan lurched forward as his lightning broke through. It took him a moment to realise what had happened, by the time he stopped his lightning the old man’s robes had mostly burnt away. He took a moment, dropping to one knee. The whole of his being ached, but he didn’t have the time to sit around anymore. He brought himself back to a stand, putting his saber on his belt he turned around and headed for the children. His new apprentices as he called them in his mind.

He was an old man, the burn of a lightsaber going through his back made him cry out in pain. No, he was young, so very young, and it was a howl of joy, he was lifting a set of small rocks with the force for the first time. Or was he a young man teaching a small, Mirialan boy how do it. But the boy was a man as well,and he was no longer as young, he knew this green skinned man, it was his first apprentice! He had just knighted him, his silver white blade cutting away the brade. They looked the same, but everything was different, the blade was in his apprentice’s heart. The room was dark, and his saber was resting on top of a cloth that was sinking into the floor, the funeral. He was the old man again, training a Thisspian girl, the girl aged before his eyes becoming a young woman, then she seemed middle aged and she handed him a young Togrutan babe. 

He saw them together again, the Togrutan had become a teenager, his amber eyes were downcast his grey hued skin matched the darkly lit room, Uvya was next to him. Her brown hair was greying, she turned her gaze from the boy as a folded up set of robes was brought in by his old friend, Grand Master Ternoth. The Zabrak placed the robes on a small square pedestal, Uvya slithered forward, placing her upper left hand on Ternoth’s shoulder while her lower hands placed the remains of his apprentices lightsaber on the robes. Talmerkin came forward, placing two sabers on the pedestal as well. Two sabers, why were there two sabers but just one boy, where is the other boy? The other boy, the other- Kopezc! 

Awareness came back to him, he could no longer return to his body, but he could form the force around him into his body. It shifted, his form went through the same phases his memories went through, and again he was lost in this stream of consciousness. Who was he? Why was he trying to form a body? What was he doing? As if yelled at him from the other side of a large cave, a name echoed into this stream of questions “Kopezc!” This brought purpose to his shifting form, he ended up as the man who killed his apprentice. Kaan was staring wide eyed at him, Kopezc strung over his shoulder. “Impossible, that's impossible”. His shape flickered, was this impossible? 

Kaan had just picked up the Twi’lek when the force warped before him, it slowly took the shape of the man he’d just killed. His thoughts escaped as words impossible, what he was witnessing was impossible. The phantom’s face looked stricken, as if he agreed, and he seemed to fade away. He didn’t allow himself to linger, abandoning Talmerkin in place of running. “Stop Skere Kaan!”, Zalgerzine’s specter yelled after him, he had just rounded a corner when a thunderous force push took out the wall he’d just been in front of. This brought greater urgency to his effort to escape.

“Raznerin?” a woman called his name at the other end of the hall. His spectral form shifted when he saw her, the first time he had met Valreen Ternoth he had been 116 years old, and she had just been appointed the rank of Master. The thirty odd year regression did little to change his appearance and brought another flash of memories. His spectral state began to destabilize he only managed a few words before disappearing again, “Kaan, Kopezc, stop… im”.

Valreen had been instructing a group of younglings how to connect their minds through meditating together when a horrible scream echoed through the whole of the temple. All of the younglings had panicked, filled with fear, it was all she could do to calm them and call a nearby Master to attend to them while she went to find the source of such an ominous telepathic disturbance. She opened herself to the guidance of the force, and followed its intuition towards the outskirts of the temple on the southern sector, she called on the force to bring her preternatural speed to bare. She with her senses outcast across the temple she made note of the other Masters and Knights, some had fallen behind her in flanked formation, others were approaching from other various places in the temple all on the same destination. 

The temple was in disarray, many of the Padawan’s and a fair number of the newer Knights had been deeply stricken by the scream, few of the younglings were unaffected. She came to realize that they were headed to Raznerin’s quarters, she could sense his force signature had become weak. She sensed as well the two Zillo beast clan members Kopezc and Talmerkin, both boys were unconscious, as were many of the people in that area, the scream had been too powerful there she assumed. A third signature stood out to her, powerful and dark, a Sith here in the Temple? It seemed to be in conflict with Raznerin, she further enhanced herself calling to the others to do the same. The younglings and her old friend were in terrible danger and she knew she must save them. 

For a moment she felt the presence of her old friend and longtime advisor vanish. Moments before she rounded the corner Master Raznerin’s presence erupted back into the world. She heard him yell something that got drowned out by the thunderous sound of a force push tearing down the corridor. When she turned down the hall she was shocked by what she saw, Master Zalgerzine stood there, in front of Talmerkin, but she could see through him as if he weren’t truly there. She called to him, the ethereal version of the old man changed imperceptibly. He returned to the age she first met him, then uttered the last words she would ever hear him say “Kaan, Kopezc, stop...im”. 

She surged forward, but he’d vanished before she reached him. She knelt down to check the Togruta boy for injuries “After them, quickly! Check on the others.” her orders were followed without a second uttering. The boy in her arms seemed fine, when she examined his mental state for damage from the scream, she was somewhat startled to find that it had in fact come from him. There was a lingering darkness in his force signature, she gathered he had witnessed whatever events had transpired that lead to Skere Kaan’s outing as a betrayer and the death of his intended master. Casting her eyes about the hall, she found Raznerin’s robes smoking in a corner, she called them and the two sabers strewn about to her with the force.  
She handed the robes off to one of the Knights who had stayed by her side, placing the sabers next to her own on her belt. She rose to her feet, with the boy in her arms and made her way to the nearest medical station of the temple.


	11. Not what was Expected.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uvya Jinarte returns to the tale.

The Jedi who gave chase unfortunately were unable to catch Kaan and his stolen ward, a few hours after the old masters death all of Master Zalgerzine’s living former apprentices were informed of the man’s passing. Most chose to honor him on their own, his last however did chose to come to witness the funeral. Uvya Jinarte had been in the Outer Rim, near the edge of the Unknown Regions when she received the message, now in her early eighties, her thick brown hair had streaks of grey throughout. It took her a few days to finish the assignment she had been on when she got the news, and another week and a half to get from Voss back to the temple.

Upon her arrival Master Ternoth greeted her, the two old friends bowed to one another. They had met long ago and the force had graced the pair with a slowed aging process but today they wore their age on their sleeves. The two sat for some time, Valreen telling her of what she had witnessed and sensed that day, they confused Uvya as much as they disturbed her. The boy that Kaan hadn’t managed to grab had awoken the day before she arrived, the masters of the med-bay had been keeping him in a force induced slumber. It seemed whenever he’d near returning to consciousness he would lash out telepathically at those near him, the radius of his affects lessening each time until they could finally allow him to wake.

Valreen suggested she go and speak with the boy though she didn’t say why. They had decided to keep him in the ward, which had been emptied save for him and the attending masters, so she made her way there at a slow slithering pace. It took her some forty minutes, the door opened smoothly for her, what she saw took her aback. It wasn't the many sheets of the beds coiled mid air in some parody of being adrift at sea, nor the beds themselves being crumpled like cheap beverage canisters, no those things she had come to expect to see based on the thick energy of the force that emanated around the hall. The boy sat on the solitary standing cot, knees tucked to his chest, head leaned against them, his skin was the same hue it had been when she had him swaddled in her arms. “Karsaka?” the result of the soft utterance was instant, like the sharp ring of being struck on the head the force agitated around her. It was horribly similar to that hour spent in hyperspace on her ship those years ago, but today it had the power of a boy with training behind it instead of an infant.

The sheets became taters in his telekinetic grasp, the beds rattled. Uvya sighed, gathering her energy she projected them outward to cancel out his disturbance as she went deeper in the room. “This is not how a Jedi behaves when dealing with loss Padawn.” She didn’t know if he was ready to be a master’s student, she didn’t know if she was able to train an apprentice, but he needed a master and she felt she was the only one who could fill her masters vacant space. She soothed the jagged edged of the boys grip on the surrounding force, compressing it back around his hunched form with every inch traveled forward. She placed a hand on his head gently, this caused him to look up at her, she saw recognition in those eyes. She sat with him. Later that day the funeral was held, there was no eulogy for the man, just respectful silence. The pair remained for a few days at the temple for a few days, then departed, this boy needed mentoring away from others for his safety and that of others.


	12. Time starts on Dantooine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uvya brings Talmerkin to Dantooine to begin his training.

She had brought them to Dantooine, they had been there for several months now. She started by focusing on his force abilities, his power she feared would become dangerous if he couldn’t properly control it. For thirteen hours a day, the two meditated together, passing rocks back and forth telekinetically as they did so. After a few weeks they moved on to lifting larger rocks, working on building his newest lightsaber at the same time. During these sessions they would discuss his emotional state, working through his loss of Zalgerzine, trying to discover the root of Talmerkin’s force scream.

For five hours of the day they trained in physical combat, armed with wooden training swords, Uvya herself was a master of the first and sixth forms as their use was less hindered by her unorthodox physiology. She had brought with them some of the holocron recordings of old battle masters like Kao Cen Darach to provide her pupils the knowledge of forms she did not know whilst letting him test their lectures against her skills. His advancement was no quicker than an ordinary padawan’s she assumed, but the vigor he showed gave her confidence that he would grow strong with enough time. The saber Talmerkin was crafting seemed to be following designs of the duelists, devoid of any markings save its leather hand grip in the middle of the curving hilt, the activation switch on the underside of the ovular hilt, and its protruding emitter shroud.


End file.
